Over 60 Afghan girl students poisoned, hospitalised

More than 60 students of a girl school were mysteriously poisoned in Jabalus Saraj district of Afghanistan’s eastern Parwan province on Sunday, a police official said.

The incident occurred in Zarbia Girl School on Sunday morning, said provincial police spokesman Salim Nuri without providing more details.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Parwan’s Education Department Nizamudin Rahimi described the cause for poisoning as drinking toxic water from a nearby canal, saying all the affected students have been taken to a hospital in the provincial capital of Charikar.

An investigation has been initiated to determine the exact reason, he added.

Abdul Jalil, head of the Health Department in Charikar, said that around 100 ailing students of a school had been taken to a hospital for medical treatment in Charikar on Sunday.

Parts of Parwan province have been the scene of the Taliban-led insurgency over the past few years.